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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26484037">Reach Out for Your Last Surprise</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeenius_the_Dork/pseuds/Jeenius_the_Dork'>Jeenius_the_Dork</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 2, Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, Big Brother Yu Narukami, MC Swap AU, Palaces (Persona 5), Persona 4 Spoilers, Persona 5 Spoilers, TV World (Persona 4), Temporary Character Death, Unreliable Narrator</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:47:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>21,034</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26484037</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeenius_the_Dork/pseuds/Jeenius_the_Dork</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>This story is a work of fiction. Similarities between characters or events to persons living or dead in your world are purely coincidental. However the story you have come to know has been distorted by the desires of a false deity. But the World Is open to many possibilities for the Trickster and the Seeker. Though they may be lost now, not all hope is lost.</p><p> </p><p>By accepting the terms above you too will become part of the story. Will you accept?</p><p> </p><p>&gt;Yes</p><p>  No</p><p>--</p><p>Otherwise called Yu Narukami and Akira Kursu switch places at the most vital parts of their stories. Needless to say, it's not a good time.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>62</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>97</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Awaken, Trickster and Seeker</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>This story is a work of fiction. Similarities between characters or events to persons living or dead in your world are purely coincidental. However the story you have come to know has been distorted by the desires of a false deity. But the World Is open to many possibilities for the Trickster and the Seeker. Though they may be lost now, not all hope is lost.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By accepting the terms above you too will become part of the story. Will you accept?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>&gt;Yes</span>
</p><p>
  <span>  No</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yu Narukami opened his eyes to the world smelling the aroma of strong coffee and spiced curry. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, dangling his, now crushed, glasses between his fingers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Figures.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taking in his surroundings, Yu could see he was in some kind of cafe. A cafe covered wall to wall with exotic coffee beans, with a pot of curry boiling on the stove, and on the wall by the front door a painting of a woman looking forlorn at the baby in her arms. On any other day Yu may have considered admiring the painting or buying a cup of coffee however there was something far more pressing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This wasn’t the TV world. The shattered TV on the ground behind him was proof of that. Which could only mean one thing, he hadn’t saved Nanako.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Against his better judgement and the protests of the rest of his team Yu knew he HAD to jump into the TV world after Namatame and Nanako there was just no way it could play out elsewise. Dojima didn’t understand, neither did Adachi. He thought the rest of the Investigation Team would, at the very least Teddie but they all protested. So Yu did the only thing he could. He went into the TV anyway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And look at where he was now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without much opportunity to consider where he was, the door to the cafe banged open. Standing at the door was a middle-aged man, dressed in a white suit jacket and pink dress shirt, followed by a young girl practically hiding behind the man. “Who the hell are you and how did you get into my cafe?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looking at the TV on the ground then back to Yu the man’s eyes narrowed. “You know, be it not for the circumstances I was already in I’d call the cops on you. But I’m not in the mood to deal with those bastards right now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Yu’s voice finally came back to him he blurted out the first thing that came to mind, and soon he would realize this was the wrong move. “Where’s Nanako?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man looked far less than impressed. His scowl deepend as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m done playing games. You can throw names out all you want but it won’t get you any closer to being let off guard. I’ll ask this one more time. How did you get in here and why did you break my TV?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>know.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He didn’t know and he didn’t know how to express this to the man. All he was planning on doing was saving his little cousin, his little sister, and putting an end to the murders in Inaba. Whatever he was doing here, however he got here, was far from planned. For starters, where even was he? This wasn’t Inaba in the slightest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, um...Sojiro…” a quiet voice squeaked out. It was then Yu remembered the girl that had followed the man into the cafe. From what he could assume, the man’s name was Sojiro. That was good to know, maybe. Chances were he would be arrested if Sojiro called the cops. As unlikely as that seemed given the man’s graceful introduction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sojiro his uniform isn’t from the area. Or Tokyo even. I think he’s from Akira’s hometown.” the girl spoke.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now Akira was a relatively common Japanese name, or at least he assumed so since he knew a few, but considering the mention of a hometown Yu was suspicious. In Inaba, there was only one Akira. Akira Kurusu was the 11 year old kid he watched at daycare, and an extremely close friend of Rise’s. The Kujikawas were family friends and to Rise, young Akira was like a little brother.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was fine and all but one, Akira was supposed to be back home in Inaba, not Tokyo. Secondly, the girl who knew him was no more than a year younger than he was. It wasn’t odd for Akira to have older friends, if the Investigation Team was enough of an indication of that. However an older friend from Tokyo was highly unlikely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yu had to confirm for himself. “Do you mean Akira...Kurusu by any chance?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Something in the mood shifted. Sojiro’s shoulders squared out, taking a protective stance in front of  the girl blocking her completely from view. “How do you know the kid?” The words were bit out much like a protective father over his child. It became even more clear there was far more to the story than Yu knew himself. He’d never met Sojiro, but he cared for Akira almost the same way Dojima cared for Yu.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m Narukami. Yu...Narukami. Akira-kun is from Inaba where I’m staying with my uncle right now. More importantly, how do you know Akira-kun if he’s never left Inaba?” Yu asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a flicker of recognition in Sojiro’s eyes before it quickly burnt out back into the protective anger Yu was getting far too used to. The man scoffed, replaying the words in his head once more. “You must think I’m an idiot, don’t you. If you’re the same Yu Narukami that I know you should know he was on probation for the last 7 months. But I think your story is bullshit. Narukami-san is in his 20’s and certainly isn’t a delinquent like you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can call his number! The real Narukami-san will clear this up for us!” the girl piped up again.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Futaba-” Sojiro began, however Futaba was already in the middle of calling who she thought was the real Yu Narukami.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Somewhere else in Tokyo, a 22 year old Yu Narukami sat idly, wondering why when he picked up his phone there was another voice mirroring his. Surely this semester was looking to be quite interesting.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The situation was unreal. Futaba could confirm both the Yu living in his Tokyo apartment and the one sitting on their floor both picked up the phone at the same time. What it meant and why it happened, she couldn’t say at the moment. Besides there were far bigger issues than potential time travel, as interesting as that may be to research one day.</span>
  <span><br/>
<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One step at a time, Futaba. Akira first, cool time travel shenanigans later. She, like many others, were desperate to hear any news about Akira. She hoped after they broadcast his “suicide” Nijima-san would appear at their door with Akira, like they planned and they could go onto taking down Shido. But the day had turned to night, and despite her watchful eye on the phone, it never left its place in the interrogation room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Needless to say, Futaba was worried. Sojiro, despite it being a head scratcher, could deal with Narukami for now. She had work to do.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gonna check on something. See you at home.” Futaba declared, stepping out of LeBlanc despite Sojiro’s protests.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sighed turning back to the confused kid on the ground. Though he pretended he didn’t care about the life story of all his customers, he remembered Yu Narukami had a cousin he called a little sister named Nanako, and she had a near death experience when they were younger. Her six years old and Yu in high school. Something told him through whatever happened to him, this was what Yu could have been talking about. Still, the TV part didn’t make any sense and he was far too tired to question it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Help me clean up the mess, I’ll room you for the night. The attic is empty for now, the kid used to stay there but…” Sojiro trailed off. He didn’t want to think about it. Hearing the news about Akira being arrested was a shocker to him. Almost gave the man a heart attack. When he found out the truth about Futaba and Akira, the kid promised him he would be careful, not take on more than he could chew, and more importantly to stay safe. Clearly that didn’t happen. What was he thinking going after Sae Nijima. On top of that, who even ratted the boy out? With all the confusing talk about cognition and Wakaba’s research Sojiro could barely wrap his head around it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What happened to Kurusu-kun?” Narukami asked, sweeping the broken glass into the dustpan. Right, he wouldn’t know about the arrest, and probation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The kid was here on probation, he was just arrested for some serious crimes. Despite everything, he was doing what he thought was right. But look where he is now. Justice system’s corrupt, that’s all there is to it.” Sojiro grunted. He didn’t want to think about the kind of shit they were doing to the poor kid. Sure the Phantom Thieves were labelled dangerous but Akira was a kid still. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The high schooler’s lips pinched into a thin line. He didn’t mention anything about his uncle, or wanting to study to become a detective after graduating. There was a high chance if anyone had arrested Akira it could very well have been Dojima. Despite the claims he wasn’t the best father, Dojima was damn good at his job and for the most part he was fair in that regard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dojima of the future, he guessed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Akira’s a tough kid. I’m sure he had some kind of plan to get out of this.” Sojiro offered as reassurance. What Yu himself knew about Akira, Sojiro was right. The 11 year old Akira he knew was always finding ways to escape the daycare for frighteningly long periods of time, to return with a stray cat or two. He was ready to fight anyone who bothered Rise, he was a spunky, yet quiet kid. Had a fear of Teddie for some reason but otherwise Akira wasn’t that afraid of anything. Or if he was he never showed it. If Sojiro believed in Akira, then so would Yu.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Futaba burst through the door once again, paler than a sheet, gasping. Sojiro haphazardly set the TV onto the bar rushing over to the tiny girl. “Futaba? What’s wrong?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-it’s Akira. He…” she stuttered, holding out her phone out to him, hands shaking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On her phone there was a news broadcast playing. A man in a suit talked about the arrest of the teenaged leader of the Phantom Thieves before quickly switching the story off. “The young man in custody has just committed suicide.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The saying goes, that sometimes a room gets so quiet you can hear a pin drop. A pin very well could have dropped in Cafe LeBlanc however it was masked by the loud echoing snap of the broom hitting the floor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For now, I’ll take you back. Back to a young man drifting light as a feather through the Sea of Souls. A single golden butterfly weakly fluttered its wings through the masses in search of this boy, knowing despite the circumstances it wasn’t his time yet. There was far more the World needed of him, but the boy made a mistake.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A mistake that was entirely fixable with what little power the butterfly had left. The butterfly left a trail of withering golden sparkles behind it as it settled upon the boy’s forehead. There was much to be done, and the Trickster was the one person he could trust.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The young man’s eyes blurrily opened. A muffled girlish voice spoke over him. He blinked, trying to focus his eyes, or open his ears to the vaguely familiar sound. His eyes focused upon the dangling copper ponytails, and soon, a very familiar face adjusted into view.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Rise-senpai? Is that you?” the young man asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rise Kujikawa giggled nervously, taking in the appearance of the awakened boy. The frizzy dark hair and sharp eyes hidden under an innocent pair of fashion glasses was far too familiar to her, though she’d never met the boy. It made her think of little Akira, who was definitely 11 and NOT the same person in front of her. Who’s matted hair clung to his sticky dark red forehead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And yet, she was walking into a world of magic and horrors whenever she stepped into the TV at the Junes store. She was summoning a being of massive power and aiding her friends to take down Shadows and uncover the truth of a mysterious serial murder she’d almost fallen victim too. Nothing in the world made logical sense anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Himiko’s own call within her heart only confirmed her suspicions. Her Persona strengthened her resolve to seek the truth, much like her beloved missing senpai would say.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Akira-chan? Is that...you?” she asked the young man.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His eyes lit up as much as they could. “Right, it’s me. I...senpai why do you look so young?” Akira asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Young? Shouldn’t I be asking what happened to you? You’re so old now, Akira-chan. You used to be so tiny and cute. Wait how old are you, should I be calling you chan anymore?” Rise asled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that Akira had to pause. He...he didn’t know. The last thing he remembered was walking home from his evening shift at Junes but everything else was blank. Like a long forgotten memory. The stickiness on his forehead burned. What was he forgetting, what happened to him?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A voice rang in the back of his mind. A calming, velvety voice whispering words of reassurance into his ears. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>The game isn’t over yet, Trickster. I will be here when thou calls upon me once again. Remember thy bonds. Only then, will thou see the truth.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Prince new resolve surfaces.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>He finally did it. He finally was rid of that bothersome Leader. In hindsight, Goro Akechi should have been far more satisfied with his victory than he was. Shido was pleased upon receiving Akechi’s call, after all the deed was done and no one stood in the way of their plans anymore. No one but Akechi himself, though Shido wasn’t exactly aware of </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> part of the plan.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yet all the same, leaving the interrogation room and Joker behind, entering that elevator to return home. Akechi’s victory didn’t really feel like a victory. He didn’t feel anything at all. The memory of his journey between the “interrogation” and his return home was a blur. If anyone asked him about it (purely hypothetically since no one ever would) he would tell them he didn’t remember.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In some ways, maybe this was his way of saying despite the fact he </span>
  <em>
    <span>despised</span>
  </em>
  <span> Joker and his band of </span>
  <em>
    <span>friends</span>
  </em>
  <span> he missed the man who had become his rival. Killing him while incarcerated was hardly a victory. There was no chance of him even being able to fight back. But this was the easiest way, or at least that’s what Akechi told himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even so, he would be lying if he said that he didn’t expect Joker to suddenly show up out of the shadows, declaring he was still alive and their fight wasn’t over. Perhaps he would eventually reunite with his most hated rival in Shido’s Palace with the rest of those Phantom Thieves. They were always scheming some other plan on their own, weren’t they? They were able to evade being captured by the police after all. But deep down Akechi knew, what may just be what he wanted. It was entirely possible they never had some ulterior motive and Joker simply got caught and Akechi killed him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was the likely reality, but it didn’t make it any easier for Akechi to accept.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Opening one of his drawers, he found a single black glove sitting atop his secret Featherman collection. No one actually ever visited Akechi in his apartment so he didn’t know why he was so insistent on keeping them hidden away. It’s not like Shido would actually care if he owned one or two Featherman figures. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ten. He owned ten. He even had a signed one from Pink Argus herself. A strange woman. Loki couldn’t sit still for too long around her. It wasn’t much of a case so he never actually looked into why that was. In all honestly it was rather bothersome to have his Persona stirring while having a simple conversation with Takeba. But he didn’t have too much time to question it, besides it would have proved too suspicious if he spoke of Personas and the Metaverse with the young actress. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>However that wasn’t the point. What he was really looking for was his glove. Why he kept the one glove after tossing the other to Joker, he couldn’t really say. Without a pair it proved to be useless, especially within his line of work, but perhaps he was getting sentimental. Being called Joker’s rival by the man himself only excited Akechi in their little game of cat and mouse. And in the end the cat caught the mouse.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Feeling sentimental, princeling? It won’t do you any good anymore, the boy is dead.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Loki chuckled ominously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m as aware as you are, however I can’t help but feel something is wrong. No one will check for a body, the document has already been signed. And still…” Akechi trailed off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>If that’s what you believe why not check for yourself. As you’ve said, no one will search for a body.</span>
  </em>
  <span> The Trickster god suggested.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And risk the entire operation? No, that would be a stupid move right now.” Akechi sighed. Truly he must have lost it if the one thing he could call a friend right now was a magical demon living in his heart. Honestly, and Loki wondered why he preferred Robin Hood during times like these.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now that he was on his mind, where </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> Robin Hood? His other persona had gone silent since the Interrogation, almost as if he was never there to start. Yet the absence of the archer left a void in Akechi’s heart that he hated to admit was there. Sure Robin Hood was fabricated to gain the trust of the Phantom Thieves but despite that all he was still a part of Akechi.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Robin?” he called out. No one responded. Not even a glimmer of recognition in his heart.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And there was Loki’s ambiguous chuckling again. Of course he would find the disappearance of the other persona amusing. Loki was never that fond of Robin Hood. A hero of justice who stole from the rich, gave to the poor, and followed a set path. Nothing like the chaotic god Loki was. No, they were two entirely different entities.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He’s gone, little prince. You no longer have need for him thus he’s gone back into the seal of souls. </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>I’m</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> your sole persona now.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akechi opened his mouth to protest, but found himself unable to speak. In a way, Loki was correct. And it all made more sense. The emptiness when leaving the interrogation room, his robotic report to Shido. He knew he felt like he was missing something, and for a moment he would have accepted that answer to be the loss of his rival. But no, there was far more to it, more than he could ever imagine. So why, why didn’t it feel right? He didn’t need Robin Hood. He didn’t need that attic trash.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That moment Akechi decided. He needed to investigate. Grabbing his uniform jacket off the chair, Akechi left his apartment. The taxi driver gave him an odd look, seemingly unable to recognize who he was, when he told the man to drive to the courthouse. People who didn’t recognize Goro Akechi these days seemed fewer and far between, though without much more question he was on his way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This pleased Loki more than ever. As if it were all a fun little game of hide and seek Akechi was going back to the damn interrogation room. He paid no mind to the persona, trying whatever he could to tell himself this was all for his own piece of mind. Akira wasn’t going to jump out and surprise him. He would be there, on the table where he left him. Dead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh what a fool he was to think things would be that easy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His footsteps echoed off the otherwise empty halls. It was clear no one had been down there since the interrogation, what point would there be to check on a dead man. Unless your name is Goro Akechi. Almost as if it were a premonition, the lights flickered the further he traversed the hallway. Standing in front of the door to the interrogation room, hand hovering over the handle, he paused.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was ridiculous. There was nothing to fear. The only thing that would be waiting for him were the bodies of the guard and Kurusu.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Go on then. Open it.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Loki urged with a lilt to his voice, suggesting he knew more than Akechi did. Odd considering...whatever. He opened the door bracing himself for the stench of death and nothing of surprise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The metal door scraped open. A wave of rot and, strangely enough, mothballs rushed through Akechi’s nose. The false detective coughed trying to rid himself of the acrid stench. Despite being used to murder he wasn’t really one to clean up after himself in the Metaverse. There was nothing to clean after all. A shadow would disappear before his eyes. Nothing like that would happen in the normal world.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What the other smell came from became glaringly obvious the moment he stepped inside. The first thing was that Kurusu wasn’t there, at all. Surrounding his feet in the room were moths scattered across the floor. Dead moths. The littered the room with no discernable origin considering how enclosed this specific underground interrogation room was. The body of the officer he shot lay in the same place he left it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What an interesting turn of events, isn’t it princeling?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Loki asked. Akechi huffed out a sigh in response. If only Loki could disappear like Robin did sometimes. The attitude was grinding on Akechi’s last nerve, on top of the other issues presenting themselves more and more as the mystery unfolded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Moths. Moths everywhere. What could it mean? Where did they come from? And why. There was no obvious answer that jumped out at him. Not like those cases he worked on with Sae-san. Or even the ones he glanced over with that meddlesome police officer that fostered him. He was jumping completely into the dark with this one.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was no use dwelling on it, or even standing in the interrogation room any longer. If someone noticed him down here it would pose more questions than he would ever be able to answer, and only look worse for him. Sure he may be the saviour that caught the notorious leader of the Phantom Thieves but you should </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> return to the scene of your crimes. Suou-san taught him that early on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Something shifted behind him. A weak fluttering of wings stopped Akechi from closing the door and leaving things as they were. Upon the seat Kurusu once sat was a single golden butterfly, struggling to take flight. Akechi watched the butterfly with an odd fascination, feeling as if he may have seen something similar before. It was right before summoning Robin Hood, yes Robin Hood not Loki, and...the butterfly spoke. He couldn’t quite remember what the creature said to him, but there was more than met the eye about this strange insect.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The creature’s wings slowed to a soft sigh before it disappeared from sight once more. A wild grin spread across Akechi’s face. “Loki, I believe we have one more case to solve. What happened to the attic brat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <span>A swell of satisfied pride swept up in Akechi’s heart. Without a word Akechi knew his persona’s resolve. They </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span> going to find Kurusu, if it was the last thing they did.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>the Trickster gains some new allies.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The fact Rise was able to help Akira all the way back to her grandmother’s tofu shop was already in itself a major feat. Not getting caught on top of that was an absolute miracle. If she’d been seen carrying someone, as injured as Akira was, through the streets of Inaba while Nanako and Yu were missing it would only cause more concern and make things much harder for the police still in commission than there was already.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had to wonder what had even happened to Akira for him to befall such a fate. Especially given his approximate age was around Yu’s and that he was clearly from the future because of this. Among that, the bruises that littered his skin and the unmistakable limp on his right leg, he’d definitely been beaten at some point. By who she would probably never know since Akira didn’t remember anything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the other hand, Rise knew Akira very well. She’d known him since the moment his family moved to Inaba. Their parents were something of college friends, and Inaba’s police force was always looking for more reputable officers, and Tatsuya-san was just that person at that time. Since Akira and Rise were young they had a lot of playdates, she was basically his older sister by the time he was 7. It was cute, it was still cute but if this Akira called her big sis she might scream.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That wasn’t the point she was trying to make. She knew Akira very well, so she knew if anything he was up to trouble. No one walks out of what he presumably came from without being in some sort of trouble, so she was worried. She couldn’t really do anything to </span>
  <em>
    <span>change</span>
  </em>
  <span> what happened, and that he needed to know the truth eventually. But if she could prevent that from happening even for a little bit she would be happy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That wasn’t a good idea, she knew that but forcing it upon Akira would be a bad idea. Especially right now. They needed to work on saving Nanako before even thinking about what to do about Akira. As long as he could hide out above the shop and stayed out of anyone’s sight things would work out fine.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The one thing Rise forgot to consider was what her grandmother would say upon seeing Akira. And it quickly became obvious just trying to brush the issue under the rug was not going to cut it at all. Her grandmother ran over to her and Akira the moment she lay her eyes upon the tall teenage boy, ignoring the two customers inside. The first one she recognized as Adachi-san. She could recognize that terrible posture from a mile away. And the other was Teddie. Teddie was unmistakable in general. No one in Inaba would wear clothes that fancy every day while blissfully being unaware of their surroundings and dancing in a tofu shop.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Rise-chan I’d come around to ask you if you’ve had any news about Nanako or Narukami. But, I guess you’re too busy for that right now.” Adachi said, sending a weary look to Akira. She could see he had a lot of thoughts going on in his head. Who the beaten teen was, why Rise wanted anything to do with him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akira lifted his head towards the young detective. Though his memory of the past year was absolutely shot he remembered how the murder case ended. It was all his father could talk about for a year after the true culprit was caught. The man standing in front of him. Tohru Adachi.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Whatever the man actually wanted from Rise was not about Nanako. Narukami-senpai maybe, but judging by what he knew, Adachi could very well be behind the disappearance of his senpai as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akira was a good kid, sure he was a pain in the ass when he was a kid but a little rebellion against his father didn’t hurt anyone. Especially if it just led to a stray cat or two being brought home once or twice. He never did anything actually criminal. Of course he wouldn’t, that would be trouble for his father. But never in his life did he want to punch a cop as much as he did as he watched the detective speak to big sis Rise in a sickeningly fake carefree tone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was it weird to call her big sis when she was the same age as he was? Not the point, stay on task Akira.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy sent Adachi a deadly glare beneath his glasses. In a scene of dramatic flare the sun peaked up from behind the clouds, casting a menacing glint off the polished plastic. Adachi, despite who he was, took a step back. Though the boy spoke no words there was a clear message behind in his expression. Stay away from Rise. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For what reason, Adachi couldn’t place. He didn’t like how protective the boy seemed to be of Rise and it was much more than being the average fanboy. As he slumped his shoulders and waved them off the gears began to turn. What was an unfamiliar boy doing with mega idol Rise Kujikawa in Inaba?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey what was that about? Adachi-san was just doing his job.” Rise asked, doing her best to balance herself and Akira.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Believe me. He’s not.” Akira replied. Even through the haze of his mind he knew better than to call out Adachi in the open. There was no evidence against him, and any and all people capable of doing so were focused on the kidnapping of Nanako Dojima. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But SHIT did he want to punch Adachi so badly. Fuck the police, as his </span>
  <em>
    <span>detective</span>
  </em>
  <span> father would say.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Rise-chan what’s going on out here? What happened to the nice detective?” Rise’s grandmother asked, stepping out from the tofu shop. Her eyes immediately landed on the tall teenager leaning onto her granddaughter like a crutch, noticing how he shifted his right leg uncomfortably often. Like he didn’t want to put any pressure on it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once getting a good look at his face she understood.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good heavens, child, what happened to you? Come, Rise-chan, let’s bring him inside. Your friend can help you bring him upstairs.” her grandmother gasped, ushering them both inside. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Normally she wouldn’t trust a complete stranger inside, especially given who her granddaughter was however there was a familiar aura about the boy she couldn’t quite place yet and turning him away from their door at such a dire time was downright cruel. The hospital was too far away for them to walk, it was unfortunate Rise-chan wasn’t old enough to get a real driver’s licence yet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For now, they had to work with what they had.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rise didn’t need to question which one of her friends stopped by for very long. Teddie bounced into view, thankfully out of his bear costume, about to start shouting her name when he too noticed Akira. The next thing that happened couldn’t be properly explained to her grandmother no matter how hard she tried.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Teddie, in all of his glory, honestly walked up to Akira studying the poor boy’s bruised face before </span>
  <em>
    <span>sniffing it</span>
  </em>
  <span> like he was some sort of dog. A look of recognition washed over Teddie’s face, and he opened his mouth to ask her a question before sending a look to her grandmother and closing it again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Teddie instead of being weird can you help me bring him up the stairs? I’m not strong enough on my own.” Rise asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With the combined efforts of a boy who’d grown a body inside a bear suit and the teen idol they carefully helped the hazy Akira up the stairs into the small guest room Rise’s parents would normally stay in if the entire family ever came to Inaba. Granted that almost never happened so there was no real reason for her to be worried about it. Besides maybe messing up her grandma’s nice white sheets. She’d have to buy her new ones afterwards.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the absence of Rise’s grandmother for who knew how long, Teddie pulled a more serious face than usual studying Akira once more. Reaching over the not-bear removed Akira’s glasses, turning the plastic over in his hands.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“These glasses are the same as I make, how did you get them?” Teddie asked, going right into the important details.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Squinting at Teddie Akira tried to remember who he was for a moment. The voice was eerily similar to the dreaded Junes bear but that demon spawn was nowhere in sight. He would recognize that horrid suit from a mile away, since by then he’d be a mile away from Junes but that wasn’t the point.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t remember ever needing glasses. Or getting them for that matter. Sure his vision was not at all the same as normal but that was due to the circumstances that brought him here. Not the presence, or lack thereof, of glasses.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Doing his best he tried to explain this to the boy and Rise. “I don’t know where they came from. I need them as much as you do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The irony of the statement didn’t fly over Rise’s head. She could see the ghost of a snarky smirk that almost made her want to push him off the bed if not for the shape he was in. He didn’t need to say it, but she knew that he was well aware of the near magical circumstances that lead to her involvement in the case.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Needless to say Rise wasn’t a huge fan of that at all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see you become a wise guy when you’re older.” she softly ruffled his already messy hair. “Can you at least tell us the last thing you remember?”</span>
  <span></span><br/>

  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I was walking home from my part time job at Junes, but that’s about all I can tell you.” Akira replied, trying to swat her hands away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really? I’m surprised you’d want to work there considering how much you hate that place.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We both know it’s not the store itself, or Hanamura-san that I don’t like there.” Akira deadpanned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From the corner of her eye she could see Teddie deflate, close to letting lose his affection towards Akira. Thankfully the bear could stop himself for the time being. Instead choosing to inspect Rise’s cellphone, in an attempt to figure out how to use it so they could call the others.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, Kurusu-kun. Since you’re from the future that probably means you know who the true culprit is. Then again we already know that grizzly Namatame is the one behind it all. He kidnapped Nana-chan after all.” Teddie commented, pressing random buttons on her phone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rolling her eyes, Rise took the phone from Teddie’s ‘paws’, stepping out of the room so she could call Yosuke, or anyone who would really answer her. The best bet she had was Yosuke, despite knowing how uncomfortable he’d probably make it that the idol Risette was calling him. Whatever this was for the investigation. Worrying about Yosuke’s attitude would come later.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you haven’t actually figured it out yet then.” Akira replied to the strange boy. He honestly couldn’t remember who he was. All he knew was he sometimes hung out around Rise and Yosuke most of the time, and Narukami whenever he was around. The voice was uncomfortably familiar but again he was sure it wasn’t the empty husk known as the Junes bear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s not Namatame?” Teddie asked, setting down one of the figurines on the desk, turning back to Akira.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akira chose his words carefully. “I can’t tell you too much since going to the police and telling them who it is would be hard in my situation. But I can tell you it’s not him. It’s too easy of an answer.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well considering you know, the true culprit has to have been caught! That’s beary reassuring Kurusu-kun!!” Akira cringed at the bear puns. It brought back too many terrible memories of the Junes bear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They sat in comfortable silence, waiting for Rise to return. Despite his usual bothersome demeanour Teddie wasn’t as clueless as most expected. He smelled something akin to the scent Shadows gave off in the TV world. The power emanating off of the scent was one familiar to Teddie. Close to something that alerted him of someone’s Shadow self but not so strong that he knew it was a Shadow. Considering where they were in the world right now, he knew. It was the smell of a Persona.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But there was another one that quickly overwhelmed him. It was also familiar but not half as common as before. He remembered something similar far back in April after the fog cleared in his world. He tried his best sifting through the muddled memories he’d made over the past seven months, almost to no avail.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The realization hit him when he remembered the name of the lady that had been thrown in. The one who’s family owned a booze shop, Saki Konishi. The smell of Death.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akira himself was completely unaware to this, though Teddie was sure the pieces were going to fall into place for the boy soon. After all he strangely woke up in the past with very few memories of what led him to be there. Despite having his own lost memories, Teddie was almost certain he shouldn’t mention anything to Akira, or even Rise maybe. They were dealing with </span>
  <em>
    <span>a lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> so adding death to Akira’s increasingly worrying list of mystery was the exact opposite of a good idea.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was for the best he kept this to himself for a LONG, long time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akira’s eyes drooped as a sudden wave of fatigue overtook him. He rubbed his eyes trying to keep himself awake with very little success. As sleep overtook the Trickster, he could have sworn he saw a shimmering blue butterfly flutter into the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Outside the guest room, Rise didn’t know what else she could possibly do. Yosuke was in the process of gathering the rest of their little team, which she supposed was good for the investigation but she hadn’t exactly told him what was going on, in the off chance her grandma was listening.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And now she was in the worst possible scenario. As if the world was playing a cruel joke upon them all, her grandmother reached the top of the steps. The stern look in her eyes made Rise want to look away, but that would probably only look more suspicious.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So Rise-chan. Who exactly is that poor boy?” her grandmother asked. Of course she would be concerned. Not only by his condition but from her own status as an idol too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He was recruited relatively recently before I went on hiatus. My agent wanted me to help him get used to the idol life before he started training since Kanami-chan’s too busy with her rising popularity and all that.” Rise replied putting her acting lessons hopefully to good use. Considering her grandmother had yet to figure out what she was doing at Junes so often she was sure it would work out relatively well. Hopefully her grandmother would never figure out the truth, it would be hard on her old heart. “I don’t know what happened to him on the way here though. He doesn’t seem to remember.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see. Perhaps this was his way of trying to ease you back into work as well. Are you sure you’re alright with it. Still. I hope the poor dear’s alright. What is his name?” her grandma asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh uh. Ren. Ren, uh.” through the deepest corners of her mind she tried to create a new last name for Akira. The only thing that seemed to enter her mind was the Mama Mia script she’d been learning before deciding to go on break. “Uh Mama Mia.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe that wasn’t the best idea.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Amamiya-san then. I will leave you and your friend to it then. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you need something.” her grandmother pat her on the head before heading back down to the tofu shop.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a sigh of relief Rise reentered the guest room. Teddie nervously paced around Akira who had fallen asleep, and while she was glad he was resting it was no less concerning that Himiko nervously flitted around anxiously as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The young idol’s eyes rested upon the blue butterfly sitting beside Akira’s head. For a moment she wondered if this was what Teddie was so panicked about, a single butterfly. The strange creature seemed almost protective despite being such a delicate little insect. If she had the power to use her Persona in the normal world, Rise may have tried to scan it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without being able to do much else, at the very least she wanted to calm Teddie down. If her Grandmother heard the commotion and returned upstairs to the mascot’s freakout she could sense trouble incoming. “Come on Teddie, calm down. What if Akira-kun wakes up. He probably wouldn’t want you freaking out over something as small as falling asleep.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s not that Rise-chan. I’ve smelled something on both that strange bug, and Akira-kun.” Teddie whimpered. If not for the clearly foreboding sense of danger she would have smacked him for smelling Akira so much.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t leave me hanging Teddie, what’s wrong?” she asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy paused for a moment, carefully considering his next words. “Rise-chan I don’t understand myself but they smell like Death.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akira awoke in an unfamiliar room. Well he could barely call it a room , it was actually a blue limousine driving through a foggy trail. In front of him sat an old man with a large strange nose, smiling at him. Beside the man were a young man and a woman.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everything about the room was blue. The seats, the walls, the clothes, the lights. Everything. Through the speakers, he could hear the haunting, yet strangely calming song drifting through the air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Greetings my young man, and welcome to the Velvet Room. A place between dream and reality, mind and matter. My name is Igor, a servant of Philemon.” the man, Igor, introduced himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am Margaret, the current attendant of the Velvet Room.” the woman spoke, blowing slightly to Akira.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And my name is Theodore, Margaret’s younger brother, and an attendant of the Velvet Room.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Velvet Room is a place only those who have forged a contract may enter. However…” Igor trailed off, staring into Akira’s eyes. Akira shifted uncomfortable in his seat, unsure of how to even begin. Velvet Room? Contract? He knew he was missing something but the last thing he expected was...well...an old man in a car and two unsettling albinos.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The strange man wordlessly summoned an array of cards onto the table in front of him. Turning the cards around the frown deepened, studying each of the cards. From the other side of the limousine, Akira was barely able to make out what was on them, though he quickly assumed they were Tarot cards.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Theodore tensed beside his Master, staring at one particular card. “Master, that’s...are you sure we should allow him on such a journey so soon?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m afraid the young man may not have a choice.” Igor replied, returning his attention to Akira. “The cards are not in your favour today, a great ordeal lies ahead of you, one that leads to the End. Though you are still a guest of this room, we will provide assistance to you to best we can.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“However, that will be entirely up to you. Will you accept what you have forgotten, or will you turn your eyes and cover your ears to delay the inevitable?” Margaret asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For the first time since entering the strange room, Akira found his voice. “Narukami-san. He’s involved with this too, isn’t he?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Margaret nodded, for once the elegant woman’s eyes betrayed her attempts at remaining completely professional. “Yes. Mr Narukami is my guest and if I had to assume anything he would likely be in your time period. Though safe for now his connection to the Velvet Room remains weak, much like yours. Our time here will soon be over. Please, Trickster. You must remember.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>its been a while, i've been busy with exams and stuff lmao.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Seeker tries to gain new allies......tries.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Makoto was more stressed than she had been in weeks. Her first indication the plan hadn’t gone the way they’d hoped was when Futaba never mentioned anything about the mission being a success, followed by the return of her sister much earlier than she had anticipated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not wanting to press, or make herself look more suspicious than before, she refrained from asking Sae anything about the investigation. From her older sister’s exhausted expression and the briefest acknowledgement Makoto was even there she could tell her Sae had a difficult time interrogating Akira. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The mission was a failure, she was well aware of that. Makoto paced around her bedroom, unable to sleep or study for college entrance exams while trying to think of any possibilities Akira was alive and the mission was still somewhat a success. In actuality she was trying to convince herself Akira was still alive because he was their leader, and a dear friend she’d come to count on. What were they going to do about his death? They’d never actually thought about what would happen in the case Akira did die.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What were they supposed to tell his parents when Akira’s probation was over?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On top of that Makoto was worried about Futaba. This had been a plan she, Futaba and Morgana had created with Akira’s help so she could only imagine how it was for the young hacker. On top of that Akira had become something like a brother figure to Futaba so the loss definitely hit hard, especially after losing her mother in such a similar way. Futaba was always so quick to answer, yet for the past few days she’d gone radio silent.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taking the role as acting leader, Makoto sent a message to the other Thieves to meet up at the Sakura residence the next morning. If anything she thought they should also check on Sojiro, since he was the man taking care of Akira.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next day Makoto was hardly able to focus on the lesson ahead of her. Her worries for Futaba’s safety, and Akira were still running rampant in her brain. Embarrassingly enough she’d been called out by her homeroom teacher, scandalous for the Student Council President Honour student Makoto was. Yet still…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the day was done the remaining Phantom Thieves convened in front of the Sakura residence. She hesitated at the door. Would Boss even answer it? She was almost certain Futaba wouldn’t be receptive about talking to them, despite the fact she wanted to try. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mako-chan, just remember we’re doing this for Futaba-chan. You got this.” Haru cheered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sighing Makoto replined, “I know. I’m just worried about how Futaba will take this. Still, thank you Haru.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door opened to a rather tired looking Sojiro, judging by the dark bags under his eyes. His normally neat slicked back hair stood up in varying directions. In short, Sojiro looked as bad as the rest of them did. Of course he would, he cared about Akira like a son.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you here to see Futaba?” he tiredly asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes. Is it alright if we try to talk to her. I can only imagine how hard it’s been for the both of you.” Makoto replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s locked herself in her room again, and won’t respond to me or even come out to eat. You can try to talk to her if you want, I hope she responds better to you guys.” Sojiro sighed, scratching the back of his neck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looking past Sojiro her eyes fell upon a silver haired teenager who seemed rather lost in thought. “Sakura-san who is this?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sojiro remained silent, looking at the boy expectantly. The boys hesitated, seemingly toiling away over something in his head before he finally stood up and held a hand out to Makoto. “Yu Narukami, nice to meet you.” he greeted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Makoto’s lips pursed into a thin line. She’d heard of Yu Narukami before. He was a regular at LeBlanc who’d known Akira while he was in elementary school. He was a rather overbearing older brother type, especially to his young cousin Nanako, from what Akira mentioned before. On top of that he liked to play detective, having helped solved a serial murder case in Inaba about 5 years ago.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait for real?! Isn’t Narukami-san like...40 or somethin’?” Ryuji shouted, shocked upon coming to the same revelation as Makoto.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yu had no idea if he should be offended by that or not. Sure he looked and kind of acted like an old man sometimes but it didn’t hurt any less. When he realised they were looking at him for an answer all Yu could do was shrug. “First of all...no I’m 17. Secondly I have as much idea as you  on why I’m here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Makoto remained silent despite the many questions she wanted to ask. They all seemed unimportant compared to the task of Futaba.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is there any way we can talk to Futaba-chan, Sakura-san?” Haru asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The older man sighed scratching the back of his neck. “You can try but I don’t think she’s going to want to talk. She’s been locked in her room the past few days, refusing to come outside even to eat.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A lot of our plan was orchestrated by her and Akira so I can imagine it’s been very tough on her.” Makoto admitted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the middle of it all, Yu sat uncomfortably, listening to their conversation. He still didn’t have a full idea of what happened but the only thing that he really needed to know, it seemed, was Akira was dead. Listening to a conversation so personal between close friends and the caretaker of another, felt wrong. But even so, Yu Narukami just wanted to make everyone happy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Some may call it meddling. Others would call it overbearing, but after spending so much time in Inaba Yu knew that the one thing he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>good at, besides changing and fusing Personas, was helping people with their problems. Yosuke would be able to vouch for him, if he was there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yu had to wonder if everyone had forgotten he was still in the room, if he should say something to make himself known. Seeing that Sojiro and those other teenagers were deep in a hushed conversation by the door Yu quietly rose from the couch. He tiptoed up the stairs, and stood before Futaba’s door. His hand wavered in front of the door, unable to move another inch. He was probably far from the person Futaba wanted to talk to but he felt like he needed to try. If anything for his own peace of mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally Yu quietly knocked on the door. On the other side, he could hear the young girl’s muffled groaning, “Go away. I don’t want to talk right now Sojiro.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually...it’s me. Uh, young Narukami. Can I...talk to you?” he asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Normally Yu could handle long silences, he grew up around it since his parents were always so busy, and honestly he wouldn’t consider himself the most talkative person out there. Still the silence following his question was almost suffocating. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sure the Akira of the future wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Akira he knew but he still cared about the kid. Or teenager as he was now. He understood how Futaba felt, almost too well. Nanako was...well he hoped she was still alive and the rest of the Investigation Team could save her, and he kind of blew his own chances at doing so.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So despite the silence that followed, Yu continued talking. “Listen, I know how you feel right now. I don’t know what you’ve heard about my cousin Nanako but I don’t think this is the way things went in your world. I...I just wanted to save her even though I didn’t know where that TV would take me. Now I don’t even know if she’s going to be alright since I’m here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wondered if everyone else would be able to save Nanako without his power of the Wild Card. Sure he knew his friends were more than capable of holding their own against Shadows however without him as leader they were a little…lost. More than that Naoto was still new to the Persona business. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No, there was no use in doubting his friends like this. They’d be able to save Nanako. The case could be closed without him…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yu shook his head returning his attention to the closed door. “My point is, it’s not your fault for what happened to Akira-kun wasn’t any of your faults.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you know? You saw the end of the broadcast. It was our idea for him to get captured.” a muffled voice questioned from behind the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Think about it. I’ve only known him for about half a year, granted he’s 11, but he’s still the most stubborn kid I’ve ever met. And he’s got the strong will to boot. Sakura-san mentioned something about the justice system being corrupt and from that I can only assume they’re trying to cover up something up with false news of his death. I don’t think any of us have the full picture here.” Yu replied, the Investigation Team wheels whirred in his brain. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d spent the past few days looking into the popularity of the Phantom Thieves, and could instantly sense something off with the entire timeline of the Phantom Thieves. If they truly were blaming the mental shutdowns on the Phantom Thieves why would the first instance of stealing someone’s heart show up two years after the first mental shutdown. On top of that, it was impossible for Akira to be the leader even if it were true, which he knew it wasn’t. Akira may be a little bit of a shithead but he was 11, there was no doubt in his mind Akira could never actually kill someone. Both the kid’s father and uncle saw to that pretty early.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Futaba shuffled in her room, soon the door was yanked open by the short girl. Her eyebrows pinched together while giving him a once over. “You...make a very good argument. I think you could actually be of good help to us.” she said. Yu didn’t know if he should be flattered or not. At this point he was just happy to help someone else the best way he could, after flubbing it with Nanako and all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hearing Ryuji’s loud footsteps stomping up the stairs along with Ann’s not so subtle remarks about Ryuji’s lack of tact, Futaba began to think. Between the strange methods behind Yu’s appearance in Tokyo 2016 as a teen and the convenient broadcast of Akira’s death there was a possibility Akira was alive. From what it sounded like, supernatural means much like the Metaverse was what brought him over. She’d have to consider it later.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yu soon learned Akira had some very odd friends in Tokyo. Not that his friend group was normal by any means, but the ‘alleged’ Phantom Thieves didn’t seem like the kind of people who would ever be friends under normal circumstances. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a stuffy student council president who had questioned what Yu had been doing in the Sakura residence, a model, a boy who didn’t seem to have a verbal filter and was the butt of the joke constantly kind of like Yosuke, an artist that wasn’t even from the same school as Akira, a cat...and the heiress of Okumura Foods. He’d heard something about Okumura Foods before he left for Inaba, they weren’t a huge company back then. On top of that, Haru’s father had been the victim of a mental shutdown on live TV resulting in his death. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was something Yu would have nightmares about for a while. Seeing images of the bodies of Mayumi Yamano, Saki Konishi and King Moron had been one thing, but watching a man die on live TV was another entirely. Judging from that one piece of evidence, he could safely say Okaumura’s death hadn’t been any of these teens, especially Haru. She didn’t seem like the kind who would pay someone to kill her father at all. Sure no one knew she was one of the Phantom Thieves but had they known, the implications behind their accusations were only getting worse.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On top of that their methods sounded absolutely insane. Going into the minds of adults and changing their hearts by changing their cognition was...a sentence for sure. They also talked to the cat like they understood it. The cat had meowed at him for a good five minutes as he stared dumbly at it. Following that, Makoto had been kind enough to actually explain their methods enough. He could tell she was keeping something vital from him still, which was entirely understandable.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Really a lot of it sounded like the TV world. Going into some supernatural place and magically changing people, or saving them in his own case, seemed too similar for his liking. And if these Palaces were like the TV World then that could only mean they were also able to summon Personas. The Phantom Thieves were probably Persona users.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Geez was Igor handing Personas out like candy now?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still, something about that reminded Yu of something. For the past few days he felt as though a part of him was missing. Like being thrown in the future had taken a piece of his soul away for not listening to his friends. To make that shorter, he couldn’t feel the call of any of his Personas. Not even Izanagi.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yu observed the Phantom Thieves, who were trying to lighten the mood by talking about Featherman….damn you Featherman. His eyes caught the strange artist boy, Yusuke, who was also watching him strangely through his fingers as if making a canvas.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh...can I help you?” Yu asked uneasily. The boy seemed to jump at the acknowledgement for a moment before reverting to his otherwise neutral expression.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The way the light shone upon you while lost in thought was utterly perfect. I was considering using you as a subject for my next painting.” Yusuke replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe it was best to leave him be.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dude seriously? That’s what you’re thinking about right now?” Ryuji very understandably questioned. Yusuke shrugged before producing a sketchbook and an array of expensive looking pencils seemingly out of nowhere before diving right into one of the blank pages. Ryuji stared at him utterly dumbfounded and speechless at what he just witnessed. Yu clasped his hands together, bowing his head. Never question a man and his interests.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Especially if it was Yosuke’s...special interests...in nurses...Yu shuddered at the painful thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The atmosphere was still generally much better than the foreboding sense of dread from a few days ago. even if it was mostly artificial with Yu around. Still, he felt that if anything they should get back to business. The assumption he had earlier about Palaces and the TV World had been nagging him for the past 10 minutes. He needed answers soon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Be honest with me, are you all Persona users?” he asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The idle conversations died down at his sudden question. Ann’s eyes widened in surprise, and on instinct she elbowed Ryuji before he could say anything. Everyone turned to Makoto in the next moment, the next closest thing to a leader. On the ground, fighting out of Haru’s grasp, the cat began to meow loudly once again. He could only watch in morbid curiosity as they nodded at the creature as if it were speaking to them before turning to Yu.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m afraid we don’t really understand the question. Would you care to elaborate?” Makoto asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now Yu was just going off a little bit of a hunch, but he was pretty sure they were lying out of their ass. And very bad at it. Maybe it worked on people who knew nothing about Personas or other worlds and all the magical mumbo jumbo he dealt with on the daily but this was lazy at best.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not that his own attempts to throw Dojima off his trail were very good.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If my assumption is wrong then you’re probably going to think I’m crazy, but then again you talk to a cat-” the cat protested very loudly, “but what I’m asking is if you go into some magical nightmare world and summon crazy demons out of your heart that you call a Persona?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After another beat of silence, Makoto replied all too calmly, “We’ve never heard of such things.” Yu knew at that moment they were either trying to hide the fact they were Persona users from him, badly, or he really did just look like a crazy person. Maybe he was being too presumptuous and not everything supernatural was the work of a Persona.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still he hoped to figure out what happened to Izanagi if anything. The other Personas in his possession were far more powerful than Izanagi however he was Yu’s true Persona, his other self. And if he couldn’t call upon his other self in this world, he was sure something very, very bad was about to happen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Deep underground far from the Sakura residence, sat a lab long out of commission. Dust covered blackened consoles, machines unplugged from wall outlets. In the center of the room sat a large machine with green tubes protruding out of it in wild directions, half hidden under a white tarp.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the last time anyone set foot in said lab was unknown exactly. Anyone who would remember the lab long passed away. The lab once belonged to a rich family, conducting too much dangerous research about Shadows and where they came from, what their potential was. And the production of artificial intelligence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Those days were long over for the company, focusing on bigger better things for the world. Even so, nothing stopped a machine that should be out of commission from opening her crimson eyes.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>haha funni robot lady go beep boop</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Akechi is sus, Akihiko acts accordingly.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>lol hey. its been a while. i've been busy. whoops</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>By all accounts Akihiko was having a terrible week. Activity in Tokyo PD had been ridiculously high since the death of Okumura, they were all desperate to find and possibly capture the Phantom Thieves. And he didn’t expect that to be handed to him by the hands of one called ‘Goro Akechi’, the second coming of the Detective Prince. That should have been something good, amazing even. It would mean all the Phantom Thieves business would finally end and Akihiko could have an honest break just to catch up with Mitsuru or Fuuka. Honestly either of them would have been great.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But things weren’t exactly that easy. He tended to rush into things without thinking, and was too impulsive for his own good, but Akihiko Sanada wasn’t an idiot. He knew something was wrong when he and several hundreds of other police officers followed the young Detective Prince into a magical casino with the promise of the Phantom Thieves right into their hands. The first thing that felt off, besides being transported to a casino from the courthouse was Caesar. His Persona had long been asleep since </span>
  <em>
    <span>She</span>
  </em>
  <span> passed, so the sudden buzz of electricity prickling his skin under his uniform had been nothing but surprising. Something in the air reeked of the atmosphere in Tartarus, and the Dark Hour in general.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Honestly, Akihiko hated it. He hated how wherever he was gave him the same overwhelming dread as that green tower from years ago. When he was younger he treated Personas and the Dark Hour like it was some kind of game. He wanted to get stronger but a fat load of good that did him. It took Shinji going into a coma and the girl he loved dying to finally pull his head out of his ass a little to finally see the error of his ways. He just hoped whoever these Phantom Thieves were had more sense than he did back then.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His hopes were quickly dashed out when he learned over the news the next day the Leader of the Phantom Thieves was a kid no older than </span>
  <em>
    <span>Her</span>
  </em>
  <span> back when the Dark Hour still existed. He was a kid and Akihiko felt somewhat responsible for having a hand in his arrest. Personally he didn’t do much of anything but being there was enough to make the man want to punch a wall. Maybe if he had considered the possibility of Personas being involved, or that the Phantom Thieves were a bunch of kids he could have done something sooner. The sudden appearance of the Thieves in a random highschool couldn’t have been just a coincidence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly being relieved of his duties after the kid’s arrest was just a punch to the gut. Being told he was a liability for feeling sympathy for a </span>
  <em>
    <span>kid</span>
  </em>
  <span> they had little to no evidence on in the Okumura case was so absolutely ludicrous Akihiko couldn’t find the words to even protest. He stormed out of his director’s office without so much as a glance to any of the other officers, and later found himself moping on Shinji’s couch over it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You always hated working for them anyways. Why not ask Kirijo if you can have your </span>
  <em>
    <span>other</span>
  </em>
  <span> job back?” Shinji asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akihiko cringed at the thought of asking Mitsuru to work for the Kirijo group’s...secret task force. The only person, besides Mitsuru herself, willing to join the Shadow Operatives was Minato but the implication behind his reasons were far from out of the goodness of his heart, or even friendship with Mitsuru. Minato hated them after what happened, and Akihiko honestly couldn’t blame the man at all. Losing Minako was hard on them all, but it was hardest for her twin brother. On top of that Minato always hated him while he was dating Minako. Being in the same room as Minato was less than ideal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A job’s a job Aki. If you need one, you may as well take it. You’re the one with ‘special power’ still.” Shinji sighed, turning back to his show.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akihiko’s week went from terrible to downright awful when that dreaded newscast suddenly interrupted them both. He barely registered  his mug shattering on the floor as the death of the kid was broadcast on the TV. Criminal or not he was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>kid</span>
  </em>
  <span> and didn’t deserve to die. Shinji’s annoyed bark cut short when he noticed how green his brother looked. The silver haired man held onto the counter, trying to keep himself steady while the room turned fuzzy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was partially his fault. He wasn’t the one who cuffed the kid, or even remotely close to the spot Joker had been arrested. The closest glimpse he ever had to the boy was when he backflipped out of an entire stained glass window. Even so he felt somewhat responsible for the fate that fell upon the kid. Was he just cursed? It seemed wherever he went someone died to some Persona related thing. He didn’t even know if Joker was a Persona user.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Come now, master, of course he was. Why else would I have awakened?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Caesar was right but that really didn’t help. Shinji’s voice sounded muffled, like he was speaking underwater. The next day he wouldn’t remember what Shinji was trying to say. What he did remember was being guided back to the couch, the bright light from the TV broadcast being shut off, and how cold Shinji’s hands felt. A reminder of what could have been had Shinji not been saved by </span>
  <em>
    <span>Her</span>
  </em>
  <span> Persona.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That’s how Akihiko found himself sitting across the large conference table from an ever serious looking Mitsuru. Despite his better judgement, Shinji came along too. Likely he was still worried about Akihiko after the 20th, despite the fact Akihiko promised he was fine. Far off from everyone else on Mitsuru’s side of the table was Minato looking as sullen as he remembered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s good to see you again Akihiko. Though I wish it was under better circumstances.” Mitsuru spoke first.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah it’s nice to see you too. Have you been able to get in contact with Yukari and Junpei recently?” Akihiko asked, shifting in the chair. He wanted to put off the part where he had to ask her for help as long as possible. Especially in front of Minato, he would probably get a kick out of it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mitsuru shook her head. Yukari stopped talking to them entirely after becoming a model. She promised it was because she was busy between classes and her various modelling gigs. Both Mitsuru and Akihiko could see through her excuses. Yukari wanted nothing to do with the Shadow Ops. She’d never liked fighting Shadows, Minako had always been the one to encourage her throughout Tartarus and the Full Moon Operations, now that they were without Minako despite how she cherished her friendship with Mitsuru dearly, Yukari wanted nothing to do with Personas anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Junpei on the other hand was hard to get in contact with. Even in highschool he was prone to forgetting his phone in the ramen shop, or dropping it in water. Junpei was incredibly unlucky when it came to cell phones. To be honest, Akihiko assumed Junpei was living his life with Chidori and coaching some little league baseball team on his free time. Or something like that. If his assumptions were correct, it was more fair to Junpei that they don’t actively seek him out, or recruit him into the Shadow Ops. It was better that way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Unfortunately I haven't heard anything from Yukari in a while. The last message I got from Iori was about a week ago however...it would be best not to bother him during this time." Ending on a rather ominous note Mitsuru didn't elaborate. Akihiko could only assume what happened to his underclassman, the Chidori theory being the strongest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yamagishi is working on some maintenance on Aigis in the lab right now so they can't join us. It'll just be Arisato joining us today." Mitsuru stated, as if it hadn't already been obvious to him. It was nice knowing Fuuka and Aigis were around though, even if it was for maintenance. Minato, entirely tuned out of the conversation stared at his cellphone wearing a rather perplexed frown on his face. Akihiko didn't really feel like asking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Be sure to say hey for me.” Shinji replied, more towards Akihiko himself rather than Mitsuru.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mitsuru hummed, in response. She leaned back in her chair, waiting for Akihiko to finally speak. It sucked Mitsuru was never really one to focus on the pleasantries, that was what Yukari and Junpei had always been good for. He couldn’t say too much since he wasn’t much better. Akihiko had to cringe at the memories of talking endlessly about protein and training he’d subjected the juniors to. With his obsession with getting stronger and training finally under control he wanted to forget the embarrassment he subjected onto them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now, considering fate put the four worst conversationalists in a room together, with one of them absolutely hating Akihiko’s existence it was a wonder how the room hadn’t exploded by the end of the day. Or that Akihiko and Minato weren’t already jumping at each other’s throats. On a normal day, Akihiko would have demanded Minato to square up for the things he said, but this wasn’t a normal day in the slightest. What started off at least semi-normal, albeit awkward and horribly paced, quickly descended into extreme discomforting chaos when Minato opened his mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Sanada why are you here?" he asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a second Akihiko could only sit in confused silence. Was Minato serious? He was certain Mitsuru would have mentioned something before the meeting, she never would have brought Minato along otherwise. Though now that he thought of it even more, bringing the man who hated him more than living was quite possibly the dumbest move Mitsuru had made since the Marin Karin incident with the Nyx Avatar.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Arisato we went over this before." Mitsuru sighed, wishing she’d asked Kikuno to clear her schedule earlier. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No I get it. He wants his Shadow hunting Persona party job back but something doesn't add up. You were part of the Tokyo Police so everything about the Phantom Thieves…" Minato trailed off. His grip on his phone tightened despite the attempt he made to </span>
  <em>
    <span>attempt</span>
  </em>
  <span> to reassure Akihiko.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You need to get over your grudge towards Akihiko eventually, Arisato. You can't seriously mean to put the blame on Akihiko for something outside of his control again can you?" Mitsuru asked, ice lacing every word of her question.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That's not what I said. Listen, regardless of how we put it the kid is still dead and it's still extremely suspicious that Sanada suddenly needs a job with the Shadow Ops. So forgive me for not being all trusting with anyone who has a Persona." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Although he wanted to protest Minato didn't exactly have a Persona, he couldn't with Shinji in the room. Otherwise he'd be a hypocrite. In a twisted way Minato </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> correct. Given their past with Strega they couldn't trust anyone with a Persona, and the mental shutdown cases. Mitsuru and Akihiko shuddered at the memories of Okumura's mental shutdown. He looked just like the Lost.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still, he was there for a reason and that reason wasn't to be verbally harassed by Minato Arisato. “I don’t have all the answers you want, but I can tell you that the Phantom Thieves are Persona users. I’m also sure that detective kid, Akechi, is one too since he’s the one who led us to them in the first place.” Akihiko explained. “Being in the alternate world awakened Caesar like during the Dark Hour. Obviously I didn’t summon him but I can tell you for sure whatever is causing the change of Hearts is the power of a Persona.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see. That makes a considerable amount of sense now that I think about it. The circumstances leading up until this moment lines up to something Persona related. And you’re certain Akechi has his own power?” Mitsuru asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t be able to tell you how else he led us into a casino from the courthouse.” Akihiko replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A muffled ping rang from under the table. Akihiko could have sworn his phone just spoke to him. Pulling his phone out of his pocket he found a strange app open, stanger was it was an app he’d never even downloaded onto his phone. The bright red and black eye stared back at him, pulsating with a strange energy. Logged into the map were the words ‘casino’ and ‘courthouse’. Sitting above both of them was an empty line. Akihiko frowned at the strange app, wondering both how it got onto his phone and what it was for. He hoped it wasn’t another virus. He was far too prone to downloading them despite Fuuka’s warnings and personal additions to his devices.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong?” Shinji asked, for a moment Akihiko almost forgot Shinji was there the whole time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This weird app just started talking to me after mentioning the casino which is already odd enough but on top of that I didn’t even download it in the first place.” Akihiko replied, placing his phone on the table for the others to see. “Can you get Fuuka to look at it later?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mitsuru nodded, “Of course, however you could always ask her yourself. Your intel on this case would be valuable to the Shadow Ops.” she replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that out of the way Akihiko could practically feel both him and Shinji sighing in relief. It was a bonus he never had to ask, knowing perfectly well how awkward and uncomfortable that would have been for them all. Mitsuru herself even relaxed in her chair, though still keeping her eyes on Akihiko’s phone. Beside her Minato was still frowning.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s something I don’t get about your story, Sanada.” Minato said. Maybe he spoke too soon. “If the Akechi kid was working with the police why was he working with the Phantom Thieves? And more importantly why doesn’t he just turn the rest of them in now? He’s doubling down on the ‘Phantom Thieves bad’ speech now so if they are an actual criminal organization why not just grab the rest and throw all of them in jail?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As much as he hated to admit it, Minato made an extremely valid point. What </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> Akechi have to gain by letting the other Phantom Thieves go free? He </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to know their identities. Whatever Akechi’s motive was, he supposed he would never know, and honestly, Akihiko felt better about it that way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door suddenly swung open. On the other side was Kikuno and some vaguely familiar looking young man with a tan school jacket. Her eyes were half open from an exhausting conversation, no doubt, Akihiko assumed after realizing who the young man was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kirijo-sama, I apologize for the interruption but he insisted he speak to you. According to his words, it’s ‘of the utmost urgency’. I tried to stop him but he was determined to push his way past.” Kikuno dully put, further affirming she was more than exhausted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The young man stepped out from behind the purple haired maid, with some form of a dubious smile on his face. Minato’s phone cracked on the table while he slammed the poor thing down, somewhere close to throwing down with the teenager right then and there. Honestly, Akihiko wouldn’t stop him if he did. No one would.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello Kirijo-san. I hope I’m not interrupting anything too important. Though judging by your current associates, I’d guess not.” Akechi said with a smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s actually good that you’re all here. I assume you’re the ones who hold the same power as myself.” His gaze rested solely on Akihiko as he spoke. Undoubtedly, he recognized him from the police station somehow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Crossing his arms over his chest Minato scoffed. Beside him, Shinji coughed awkwardly, his hands twitched towards his chest as a reminder of the events that played out 7 years ago. Neither of them spoke, and from the confused gleam in Akechi’s eyes Akihiko couldn’t say for sure if Akechi knew why they reacted the way they did. It may be for the best if he didn’t know Minato and Shinji didn’t have a Persona.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you want?” Mitsuru plainly asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Has your friend not told you yet? It would seem as though the Phantom Thief’s body has suddenly disappeared. We’ve tried looking in the morgue, but no one can find his body. It’s as if he’s completely disappeared.” Akechi replied rubbing his chin, miming being lost in thought. The subtle shit-eating grin he sent towards Akihiko only made him want to punch him even more than before. Maybe he really would send Minato on the little bastard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And you expect us to do...what exactly?” Minato ground out. “What exactly makes you think we would help you in any capacity after what you did to the kid in the first place?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The young detective let out a light hearted laugh despite Minato’s attitude, sending a chill down Akihiko’s spine. The disingenuity of the action was palpable, and incredibly uncomfortable. This was a kid who was willing to turn on his allies at the drop of a hat, as far as he knew. No matter what, he wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well if you insist. I only wish to know what happened to Kurusu’s body. And you’re the only ones who can possibly help me.” Akechi gestured to Akihiko’s phone which still brightly displayed the pulsing red eye on screen. “You have all the means to help however if you don’t wish then that’s alright as well. I hope Public Security doesn’t know what you’ve been doing under their noses.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sighing, Shinji stood up, dragging his feet across the floor as he approached the door. The winning smile stretched across Akechi’s face faltered a bit at Shinji’s sudden exit, who barely regarded Akechi at all. “Why are you-”</span>
  <span></span><br/>

  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I’m not getting myself involved with this Persona shit again, I was only here for Aki. Just do me a favour and don’t get yourself killed alright?” Shinji replied, directing his final comment at Akihiko? Mitsuru? Akihiko honestly wouldn’t know until asking him later. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The dumbfounded expression on Akechi’s face lingered for a moment before he plastered another fake smile over his face. “Well, what do you say, Kirijo-san?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mitsuru quietly contemplated her response with her lips pressed into a thin line. The only thing he could really do was hope she would make the right decision for them, but regardless they were going to follow her anyway. She stood up, nearly as tall as Akechi was in her high heeled boots. Her expression remained unwavered under his gaze. “Alright we will agree to work with you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both Minato and Akihiko shot up, nearly ready to start screaming at Mitsuru why she agreed to it, though were silenced by the icy glare she shot them, even more so on Akihiko’s end. “However, Akechi-kun, if you truly understand our line of work you’d do well to not cross any of us. Unlike your previous...allies...we don’t take well to traitors.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The smile on Akechi’s face strained to stay pleasant, reaching for a handshake. Mitsuru refused to return the handshake in favour, leaving him awkwardly standing there with that stupid smile on his face. “Thank you, Kirijo-san. I won’t disappoint you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite the ‘reassurance’ Caesar still stirred within his heart. His Personas warning wouldn’t go unheard, don’t trust the man in the black mask.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Investigation Team tries to piece some things together. Too bad Naoto and Yu were hoarding the braincells.</p><p>A special guest also makes his debut.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>After days of seemingly constantly sleeping after his encounter with the Velvet Room, Akira finally felt ready to have a proper meeting with the rest of Rise’s friends. The ‘Investigation Team’ as they liked to call themselves. He had a solid feeling despite what she was telling him, after school they were meeting at the Junes rooftop to discuss the case, and he finally wanted in on it. Even if he couldn’t just outright tell them the culprit was Adachi, he wanted to help them get there however that happened. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In all honesty, the rest of 2011 had been rather foggy for a lack of better terms. He knew after Rise, Shirogane-san and Nanako were kidnapped, and something terrible was about to happen to her. But with his insertion into 2011 and the disappearance of Yu, it was hard to tell how badly things were going to get messed up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Picking his glasses up off the table, he set them on his face and followed Rise to Junes. He didn’t need the glasses, he established that part before, however something told him these glasses were a very part of his identity now. That things would be stranger if he showed up without the glasses than with them. He didn’t know why, but he had the strangest feeling that he wouldn’t like the reason whenever he found out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite how small Inaba was in all honesty he didn’t know Chie Satonaka, or Yukiko Amagi all that well. After he started working at Junes he’d gotten to know Yosuke relatively well. He was rather annoying for a lack of better terms and had ‘foot in the mouth syndrome’, never knowing when to shut up. But despite everything that happened, especially with the shop, Akira couldn’t hold it against him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>However that was the Yosuke of the future, as it turned out, the Yosuke of the past was near unbearable. The 8 teenagers sat under a bright yellow umbrella in the Junes Food Court, talking rather openly about a murder case they were inserting themselves into, something near preposterous in Akira’s eyes considering how tight lipped his father and uncle were about their own cases. Then again this was a group of teenagers in an M rated Scooby Doo episode. What he picked up eavesdropping on his father’s conversations, the case ended up ‘unsolved’ because of the strange circumstances behind Adachi’s confession and they couldn’t actually convict the guy despite the fact he did kill two people.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now how to put that into words Rise’s friends would understand, he was still trying to figure out. Thankfully, their conversation seemed to have made them forget Akira was even there. He almost sighed in relief over their apparent forgetfulness. In a way, it gave him more time to think about how he was going to say ‘no I won’t tell you who the murderer is.’</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After the conversation had eventually drifted off into how the stupid Junes Bear wanted to smooch Yukiko or something, Akira felt someone watching him. He hadn’t noticed it before, but the first Detective Prince had actually been watching him for a while. Naoto tried to gauge Akira’s reactions, or lack of them, during their conversation. They were already suspicious of ‘Ren Amamiya’ who’d showed up mysteriously one day. The whispers about him traveled fast, especially since he was staying with Rise Kujikawa of all people. Though Rise revelled in the attention boys gave her under her idol persona, there were few Rise would actually extend her hand towards in a moments notice. Akira Kurusu, the boy she called her little brother, and Narukami. It was clear he was not Narukami-senpai so...but it was impossible. Kurusu was a child.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akira coughed clearing his throat, “Can I...uh...help you?” he asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m curious, Amamiya-san. How exactly do you know Rise-chan again?” Naoto asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akira blinked in confusion, pointing to himself before remembering the entire alibi they created so people wouldn’t be suspicious of a boy from the future. But he also could have sworn Rise had actually explained to the others at some point his situation. Shooting a half hearted glare towards Rise, he deadpanned “You forgot to tell them didn’t you?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought it would be more believable if you told them yourself. How often do you hear ‘I come from the future’ from someone in </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> time, Akira?” she sassed in response.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Slowly the puzzle pieces fell together for the rest of the Investigation Team. Very slowly in the case of Kanji but that was a tale for a different day. A look of recognition flashed across Naoto’s face before settling back into complete utter confusion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Akira. As in Akira Kurusu? Detective Suou’s son?” Naoto asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Surprise?” he replied with a grimace. “Before you ask, Shirogane-san I don’t remember how this happened at all. Whatever landed me here wiped my memory for...some reason?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s not a surprise you don’t remember anything. You looked half dead when you got here.” Rise added.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He considered commenting about how he felt half dead but that would only make the situation worse. It looked like Naoto wanted to continue questioning him about it, but from the frown on Rise’s face and a closer inspection on his own Naoto could instantly tell that despite Rise’s work, the makeup wasn’t covering the bruises on his face very well. What was left of them at least.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What was the last thing you remember, Kurusu-kun?” Naoto asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well I was walking home from my part time job in hell- Junes, no offense Hanamura-san. I vaguely remember someone shouting and after that, I was here. But judging by the fact I came here in a school uniform from Tokyo of all places, there’s a pretty huge gap in between then and now. Sorry that’s all I have for you.” he explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see. Well I think it wouldn’t be too soon to assume that whatever brought you here has done the same with Narukami-senpai of our time, would you? Otherwise he’d be trapped in...never mind.” Naoto cut themself off before revealing too much to Akira. Despite them all wanting to tell Akira about the TV World they had no idea if he would believe them, talking about a magical portal inside of a TV was no easy topic to discuss. Even with the circumstances with his arrival in their time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you talking about the nightmares inside the TV?” he asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Whatever goofy questions that had been dancing on the tips of Yosuke and Kanji’s tongues died off at the mention of the TV World from Akira. With a worried glance being shared between the members of the Investigation Team the bear, despite knowing how much Akira despised seeing him inside the costume, spoke up. “How do you know about that Kurusu-kun?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akira remembered the rumours well. It was all the older kids could talk about on their way home from school. His fathers had to beg Akira to stay home whenever it got dark, and that he wouldn’t trust strangers. All things he knew very well even before the murder cases happened. His dad was constantly busy at the station, always coming home late frustrated with the two detectives primarily working on the case. One of them would later be revealed to be the mastermind behind it all and he remembered how Tatsuya had taken </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> after the fact.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were nights when he’d sneak downstairs after his parents had gone to bed, flicking on the TV to see if he would see whatever was appearing on screen. On those rainy nights he’d always be greeted to static, and maybe a blurry image on the screen, but the one time he actually saw someone clearly appear he wished he’d just gone to bed. He was very familiar with how people saw the Risette idol persona Rise put on and seeing that utter fanservice bait displayed on TV was needless to say, gross in his honest 11 year old opinion. Thinking about it as a 16-17 year old, it was still gross and wanted that purged from his memory entirely rather than whatever landed him here.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Some famous last words of his, far into the future.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been inside the weird nightmare TV place before. It was right after you guys, well except you Shirogane-san, went looking for Rise and because I was worried about her I followed them in. That was a mistake. That </span>
  <em>
    <span>bear</span>
  </em>
  <span> is an abomination and no one believes me. You all saw it, and you </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span> call me crazy.” he shouted pointing at the Junes Bear. It innocently cocked its head but Akira </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He could still see it’s glowing yellow eyes staring into his soul speaking about how his existence was fleeting, rearing its massive paw into an almighty blow. Until it fell through the floor of whatever nightmare dimension it came from and he was back in a...strip club. That was another experience but most of that part had been forgotten after the nightmare Junes Bear incident.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> why you’re afraid of Teddie?? I thought it was just because he was a talking costume. Akira I’m so sorry I had no idea.” Rise vehemently apologized for all the jokes she’d cracked about his dear of the ‘ever so cute’ Junes Bear. It made a lot more sense in context, seeing as Teddie was pretty harmless when he wasn’t sending a Bufudyne at his enemies or being a demonic being crawling up from TV hell. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For Naoto on the other hand, they had no idea what Akira was talking about. Well, they had a semblance of an idea. They were sure Akira was talking about Teddie’s Shadow but in all honesty no one ever talked about their Shadows besides saying that they faced them. Yosuke, Teddie and Yu were the only ones who had actually seen everyone’s Shadows before. Somehow Naoto knew it was better not to ask about it, lest they bring up more bad memories for Akira.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The part about the bear isn’t the point. Is there anything else you want to ask me about?” Akira asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually yeah. You’re from the future so you know who the murderer is right?” Kanji piped up finally grasping that, yes, the handsome boy with glasses was in fact Akira Kurusu in the future. Wait what was that part in the middle-</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Akira sighed, surprised it took someone this long to finally ask the question he had been dreading for a second time. “Yes, but you realize even if I tell you, you have no evidence to back it up so going to the police would be a bad idea.” He left out the part where going to the police would likely get them killed because the killer was one of them, but he had faith in Naoto’s abilities that they’d come to at least a similar enough conclusion to back him up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What happened after the culprit was arrested?” Naoto asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pretty much nothing. There wasn’t enough evidence to support his methods, and considering what you guys do seemingly on the daily I think you can figure out for yourselves what that means. Point is, there’s not much to say other than keep doing what you’re doing.” Akira replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The nervous chuckle that passed between them all didn’t go unnoticed. Akira had a feeling that Yu was the one that kept them together as a cohesive group, and without that leadership they were starting to fall apart. Yosuke was a good manager, but that was for a department store, it was different than fighting the nightmares inside of the TV. And from what he remembered, Rise only provided support for them. The rest, as he’d mentioned before, he didn’t know very well but just through what he heard through Satonaka and Yukiko’s conversations earlier neither would be a good leader in the slightest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Should he be dragging people who were his seniors? No, it wasn’t polite in the slightest. But at this point through the space-time shenanigans they were technically the same age so he considered it fair game with how exhausted he was feeling. He had to give them some credit, they weren’t used to fighting without Yu, so Akira dropped it from there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As people started filing into the food court again, they decided it was a better idea to stop talking about a murder case in public, mostly due the the silent pleading in Akira’s eyes. He was a lot more concerned about not getting them caught than all of them combined, a thought that was highly worrying even in Naoto’s books. They didn’t know why they never thought about that before. They were talking about a murder case in the public very frequently. They supposed it was luck they had never been caught, aside from Adachi once or twice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With an actual opportunity to talk more casually, they tried to keep quiet about questions about the future. For some reason Chie was very invested in what Yosuke’s future love life looked like, a question Akira neither knew nor cared about the answer for. He continued to shrug wordlessly, feeling his eyes becoming heavier as Chie continued to talk, and talk, and talk and talk...and talk. Or maybe he was starting to go through an internal time loop. He was so exhausted he didn’t know when it changed from love to meat. Or was that what she was talking about the whole time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To quote a certain other boy we knew, he didn’t care.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Chie just lay off the kid. He obviously doesn’t have any answer for you. I’m curious though. Why did you start working at Junes considering…” Yosuke trailed off, thinking this would be the thing that would help Akira out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It closed.” Akira stiffly replied, gesturing to the department store surrounding them. “Because of Junes.” he added noticing the dumb look on Yosuke’s face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Is there-”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“It’s fine. Hanamura-san. This doesn’t need to be a conversation.” Akira deadpanned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Someone, Akira thought it was Kanji, coughed uncomfortably. They sat in silence for a good minute, unable to find a way to salvage what they’d created. He was really trying not to resent the fact his papa’s entire business was run to the ground thanks to consumerism but sometimes it was hard, especially with 2011 Yosuke in the picture rather than his own.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yukiko soon excused herself so she could get to work at the family inn. Chie followed close behind, finding no reason to be there at all without Yukiko anymore. Akira almost felt bad for being relieved to see her leave but he wasn’t going to tell anyone else that. The exhaustion of being talked at didn’t entirely disappear once the two second years were gone, however.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Out of the corner of his eye he noticed something shuffle behind one of the many signs scattered around the food court. Whatever it was, was small, probably a kid considering the policy on animals in the building. Unless it was the Junes Bear, he begrudgingly thought. Still, he had to wonder why some kid was watching them. Or if it was his imagination from being so tired.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akira yawned, trying his best to keep himself awake in case Naoto had any other questions for him, though he doubted it with the amount of people bustling around them now. His attention was soon drawn to a sparkling gold butterfly weakly drifting around the rooftop, circling over the door to the inside of the shopping mall. Akira shuddered looking at the butterfly, he had no idea why but it gave him an unsettling feeling. Where had he seen that butterfly before?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Akira??” Rise asked, snapping his attention back. “You okay? You’ve been staring at nothing for the past 5 minutes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Had they not seen the butterfly? Looking back at the door, he found nothing there anymore. Strange. Maybe it was his imagination after all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. It’s nothing important. I just thought I saw-” he cut himself off noticing someone he was sure was real quickly passing through the door. The man’s dark hair that he’d always considered to be perfectly styled flew all over the place due to the near frantic pace he walked. The man was almost overly pretty by standards, decked out in a blue apron with dried flowers tucked into the front pocket. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t that your dad’s roommate? Is he alright?” Yosuke asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The unimpressed moment of silence silenced Yosuke from asking anymore stupid questions. Noticing the five teenagers and mascot all sitting together, Jun Kashihara strode over, failing to mask the worry on his face while Akira internally screamed for any form of mercy from whatever gods would listen to him. Sadly the gods couldn’t hear his wish no matter which time he was in. After all, what good was a god when that god held no power over his own domain?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Rise-chan have you seen Akira? He ran off again and considering all that’s happened this past week.” Jun sighed running a hang through his hair, “Junes is the last place I’d expect to find him however it’s not that hard to find him if you’re around.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, I haven’t seen him in a while. We’d be more than happy to help you out though.” After a moment of consideration, she began to backtrack a little, “Maybe not Teddie actually.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Jun’s gaze fell upon Akira, he almost shrank upon himself. His papa hummed, narrowing his eyes ever so slightly at Akira. “Who’s your new friend?” he asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh this is Amamiya-kun. He’s a trainee I’m helping out after he had a bad accident” Rise replied naturally, nudging Akira slightly while smiling at Jun.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He waved a little too quickly to be considered normal, while making a choked “Ngh.” Far from his greatest moment, Akira thought to himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jun thoughtfully hummed again, “I see…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without much else to say, what was left of the Investigation Team, and Jun began their search for 11 year old Akira. Needless to say it was on the list of the weirdest things Akira had ever done. And he had been to a world inside of a TV before. Jun, Rise and Akira searched the shopping district while Yosuke and Kanji searched around the Flood Plains. Akira almost felt like asking why they weren’t calling his father, though the thought of being around </span>
  <em>
    <span>both</span>
  </em>
  <span> his parents seemed almost nauseating for some reason. On top of the fact he remembered clearly, Tatsuya being incredibly busy the weeks Dojima was in the hospital and the station was understaffed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The entirety of the inside sections of the mall, and the back alleys of closed family shops were void of Akira. Naoto had nothing to report around the shrine, even with the aid of the fox that lived there. No matter which stones they turned or who they asked, no one had seen the quiet 11 year old anywhere.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, if you were 11 again where do you think you would hide?” Rise asked, as she walked back to Junes as dejected as Akira was irritated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I dunno. Honestly, I remember always going straight home because of my dad so I’m at a loss here. Was I always this annoying?” he replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well I wouldn’t call it annoying. Kids so stuff like this all the time, granted it’s weird we live in a city with the strangest serial murder case ever. You are a bit of an escape artist though. Remember when you used to sneak out at night to visit me before I became an idol? That was so long ago and you were so tiny.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><em><span>“Enemies here?! These readings….it can’t be!”</span></em> <em><span>a young girl’s voice spoke into his ears. Lights blared into his eyes in front of him. If he had the time to shield his eyes he would have been able to see the sea of-</span></em></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rise stopped notice Akira had frozen in place a few feet behind her. A glazed look covered his eyes as he stood in a paralyzed shock. “Hey...you okay? Akira?” she quietly asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As she reached out to touch his shoulder Akira violently flinched. He blinked quickly quietly asking himself what just happened. Rise’s hand snapped back to her side as she nervously scanned Akira’s face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Akira…” she started.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He began shakily walking back towards Junes without responding. Rise tried to push her worries down, with little success. Whatever happened, Akira didn’t even quite know himself and she didn’t want to press lest the situation got worse than before. Without much of a word they reconveined with the others, equally as they were.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kashihara-san perhaps Akira-kun went back home? I mean we’ve been searching for a few hours now and Akira-kun is nowhere to be seen.” Naoto suggested reasonably.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose so. Still, I couldn’t tell you what made him run out in the first place. It was almost like he was being compelled by something.” Jun sighed, shaking his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The same sign that had shuffled before suddenly bumped again. An overwhelming wave of disappointment washed over the entire group upon realizing they never actually checked out the Junes Food Court despite it being the place they started. Walking over to the sign, Jun found the very boy they had searched so long before quietly squawking to himself before noticing his father.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Papa!!” kid Akira shouted rushing to his feet once more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Akira,” Jun spoke, with a frighteningly calm smile that made both the child and teenage versions of Akira alike shiver in their boots. “What have we told you about running off on your own, especially given the </span>
  <em>
    <span>situation</span>
  </em>
  <span> right now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know,” the boy mumbled, “but the butterfly man told me to follow him. He also warned me of the bad man.”  The way his child self glared at him was enough of an indication who the ‘butterfly man’ was calling the ‘bad man’ which only played into the ultimate irony as Akira realised his younger self absolutely despised his very existence. Which wasn’t doing anything for his self esteem, honestly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Butterfly man?” Jun asked, completely unconvinced.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Little Akira nodded vigorously, seemingly unaware of his papa’s true feelings. “Mmhm! He wasn’t a man for very long because he looked really sick, but when I saw him he kinda looked like dad!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akira began to frown the same moment Jun’s eyes seemed to stare off into space. To both of them, it sounded oddly familiar despite the ridiculousness of the description. Both for intensely different reasons, however they knew it would be important. For Jun it was a similar feeling, almost too similar, to when he met Eikichi and Lisa at Alaya Shrine. Knowing something was off, and the wave of sad nostalgia overtaking him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Little Akira tugged on Jun’s apron, snapping him out of his thoughts. Naoto and Rise had a couple hundred questions, none of which Jun had the time or the answer for. On the other hand Yosuke and Kanji stood there with silent confusion, but no thoughts. As all things should be.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for your help, I think it’s time we head home.” Jun said, turning to address mostly Rise, Akira and Naoto. “Oh and Amamiya-kun, take care.” After sending Akira a knowing smile he took little Akira by the hand and led him back inside the store. Akira had to note as they left his younger counterpart turned around to stick his tongue out at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe they were right and he was a little bastard of a kid. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rest of the Investigation Team had the same idea as Jun. After all the excitement of the day they didn’t have the energy to theorize about Akira, or Yu. While Rise said her goodbyes to her friends, Akira looked back up at the Junes sign. Once again, the golden butterfly lingered over the store, flittering weakly around the sign. Upon noticing Akira staring in its direction, the butterfly disappeared.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he and Rise entered the store, he could faintly hear the Junes Bear muttering to himself about the amount of dead moths he found all over the electronics section of the store. Akira couldn’t help but frown at the thought, at this point in the year the butterflies and moths should have already died or migrated. Honestly he didn’t want to look up butterfly facts for two hours later so it was better not to look too far into it. The entire way back to Marukyu Tofu, he couldn’t stop thinking about the golden butterfly.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The true Truth Seeker has some things to consider don't you think?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>haha see you in another month :P</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Something strange was brewing in Tokyo for the past 7 months, Yu Narukami knew that very well, though something over the past week  had gone from slightly strange to completely bizarre. A week ago, Futaba-chan from LeBlanc called him only to hear his own voice on the other end, and there was no real way he could possibly consider the reason for that. Besides his phone being broken, which was likely considering it was a flip phone from 2011 but regardless. He felt like his voice was...younger?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yu sighed, pushing his books out of the way as he sank onto his desk. Maybe he was just stressed because of finals. His university classes, his part time tutor jobs, and trying to uncover the mystery of the Phantom Thieves was exhausting. Half of it was his own fault, especially the part about the Phantom Thieves, but Yu had always been invested in a good mystery. The identities of the Phantom Thieves, and their methods, he wanted to know so badly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In retrospect, he could also tell he was getting a little </span>
  <em>
    <span>too</span>
  </em>
  <span> invested in the case, and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>may</span>
  </em>
  <span> have been neglecting some of his classwork to look into the Thieves. He called detective work a hobby, more than anything else he wanted to be an elementary school teacher, but nothing called to him more than a good mystery.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Inaba may have ruined him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were long nights when he and Naoto stood over an entire table filled with news reportings, stories from people who requested the Phantom Thieves change someone’s heart and it worked, upon dozens and dozens of conspiracy theories about who they were. He felt like he could say for certain, Masayoshi Shido was not one of the Phantom Thieves, what good would that do to his reputation if this was the man who condemned their very actions.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now that it was truly confirmed the Leader of the Phantom Thieves, a teenager nonetheless, was dead Yu had no real idea what he should do. The identities of the other Phantom Thieves would probably be exposed soon, not to mention the Thieves themselves had gone nearly silent after the capture of their Leader. He had to wonder who the target they were after was, and how someone had figured out their methods quick enough to capture them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izanagi’s voice faintly rumbled in the back of his mind. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stay out of this</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Persona said. After being quiet for nearly 5 years it was a lie to say it was only a little surprise. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Here he was thinking of the Phantom Thieves again. Sinking further into the papers upon papers of unfinished work Yu decided he needed a break. His assignments could wait when he was already so distracted by everything else. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>About halfway out the door he realised none of his University friends would be willing to hang out with him right now. They weren’t as invested in the Phantom Thieves as he was, and finals were coming up pretty soon. He cringed at the thought of Naoto berating him for giving up on his schoolwork so the less they knew the better it was. After all they weren’t super involved in the case either. The Detective Prince Goro Akechi had come up and swept the whole investigation from right under their nose. Look at him now, he was the most popular person in Japan, maybe besides Shido, for the capture.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> needed a break. Immediately. Too far from LeBlanc to justify going there at near closing time and desperate to see people, anyone really, Yu made way for the beef bowl shop in Shibuya. It wasn’t half as good as Aiya’s in Inaba but he made do with it. Again, Inaba had broken him, nothing would ever seem as comfy as that small rural town. The one thing stopping him from moving there forever was how there were no people for him to find, and talk to. Everything was much the same as he’d left it, except maybe Rise going back to Tokyo for her idol job.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The beef bowl shop was filled with customers still when he arrived. It was no surprise the place was criminally understaffed but even today, the shop seemed overcrowded. Looking behind the counter he found a rather bored looking college student pushing order after order out to customers rather than Akira frantically running around the entire shop.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now that he thought about it he hadn’t seen or heard from Akira in a while. The last time they spoke, Akira had been acting rather odd to say the least. He’d practically begged Yu to tell Rise he was sorry for not calling while she was on break since he didn’t want to bother her, and all these other reasons that made less and less sense as his words dragged on. It was rather suspicious honestly, since Akira could have done it by himself if he really wanted Rise to know, but he passed on the message regardless since it sounded so important.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After November 18th, Yu never heard a word from Akira. No matter how hard he tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut, Yu could never shake off the idea something horrible may have happened to Akira and that was why he wanted Yu to pass his message onto Rise. He couldn’t do much but pray that Akira was alright, whatever he was doing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sir, your order?” the bored worker asked loudly. Something about his voice seemed familiar but he’d never met the man in his life.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a sheepish laugh Yu quickly fumbled out wanting a large beef bowl, which the worker paid little mind to before moving onto the other customers. Maybe he was just paranoid but he could have sworn the man called him a loser.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No it was probably just his imagination.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pulling his old, battered flip phone out of his pocket Yu began to flick through his text messages. Embarrassingly enough, the TV World had somehow made it nearly impossible for him to own a smartphone, without his arm getting lost behind the screen. He didn’t want to think of the possible consequences of falling completely inside the red and black swirling vortex. The familiar sense of dread that came upon him whenever he tested the latest smartphones turned him off so he continued to use the same phone all the way back from highschool. Highschool wasn’t that far away from his life now, only about...five years.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pushing away the thought of getting older, and greying more to the point where people thought it was necessary to call him ‘Gramps’, he sifted through his messages. Strangely enough, he found about a dozen missed calls from Naoto, and another 20 from Rise over the past week he’d never been notified about. For a moment, he considered it to be his phone getting too old to process so many calls, but thinking back to it things had only started getting </span>
  <em>
    <span>weird</span>
  </em>
  <span> recently. And that was all started with hearing his own voice on the other end of the phone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yu wasn’t about to bust out the theory everything was related to Personas, or magic, or demon summoning, whatever you wanted to call what he did on a regular basis but he couldn’t deny whatever was happening wasn’t normal. On top of the strange calls he’d been noticing a single black butterfly floating around his apartment. No matter how many times he closed his windows, and released the, admittedly, pretty little thing outside, it would always somehow find a way back in. Almost as if it were watching him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Plugging his other finger into his ear, Yu attempted to listen to at least one of the messages he’d missed. His phone crackled, trying to be heard over the volume of the beef bowl shop. Though he knew the message was playing, there were only a few words that he could make out. One of them being Akira. Besides that, the message was lost to time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sat through message after message of garbled messes. Finally, he got to the last one, a call from about two hours. His final message from Rise rang much louder and clearer than any of the previous ones. Like the static and fog had been completely lifted from his phone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yu, I have no idea what or where the hell you are but you better pick that phone and call me back the moment you pull it out of your ass. </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>Don’t</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> disappoint me more than you already have.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Message loud and clear. The bored looking worker cleared his throat holding the steaming bowl in his hands tapping his foot impatiently. “Are you going to eat this or not?” he asked flatly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe he could wait to reach his inescapable demise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The bored worker rolled his uncovered eye at Yu, setting the bowl down on the table and slunk back to his work station for the next order. Weird guy, Yu wondered what made him so crabby, but that wasn’t really any of his business was it. Paying no mind to the heat radiating off of his food, Yu practically inhaled the bowl. As he expected, it wasn’t nearly as good as Aiya’s but it was a decent substitute. There was no meat dimension for him to get lost in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not that he’d even want to. Those rainy days after Aiya’s were a pain that would haunt Yu forever.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The bored looking worker was already standing by his table again by the time he was gathering his things. Looking into the boy’s grey eye he had to ask, “Have we met somewhere before.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>The worker shrugged, refusing to return Yu’s gaze. “Who knows. I don’t care.” Without a second thought, the man collected his money and carried Yu’s bowl off. Again...strange. As he left the beef bowl shop, he could have sworn he heard a little girl’s whisper. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I am thou...thou art I…</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yu Narukami had always considered himself cool headed and ready for just about any situation. He’d lived to tell the tale of the weirdest serial murder case to ever rise in Japan, summoned the god of creation, and could see through the fog of lies created by humanity. If there was a bad situation, he prided himself in becoming the leader people could rely on no matter what.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was one thing that utterly terrified Yu though, and that was anything to do with women. He had </span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span> idea how in the world he was supposed to make it up to her, or Naoto he assumed, considering the scale of her fury. After going home and listening to his messages in a much quieter space, Yu didn’t quite catch anything more than he already knew but it was obvious his fears for Akira were justified and both Naoto and Rise wanted to speak to him about it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This didn’t bode well for him at all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stared at his phone, laying on the coffee table untouched, dreading the conversation that would follow. He really wanted to just spend a day to himself, and not have to worry about anything, and yet here he was. With a shaky gulp, Yu finally picked up the phone and called.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m not here right now, please leave a loooong message because I can’t trace your call if it’s too short.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It seemed as if his cop out caller was busy. That was a shame. Yu would have felt slightly better hearing something from the older Suou-san, but things were just not meant to be. He was only delaying the inevitable. His finger hovered over the call button once he got to Rise’s contact. He was ready for this...hopefully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His cellphone began to ring. He really couldn’t turn back on this anymore. After the third ring his phone screeched out a horrifying noise, before settling back into the regular static and Rise’s grainy voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Senpai where the hell have you been? Naoto-kun and I have been trying to call you forever.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“To be honest, my phone suddenly stopped working, and I couldn’t tell you why. I never received your calls until today. Sorry about that Rise-chan. What’s wrong though? I thought you and Naoto-kun were taking a break? And what’s this about Akira?” Yu asked, trying to keep the conversation civil and casual.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Have you </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>not </em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>seen the news? The Leader of the Phantom Thieves died in custody?!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Rise-chan I don’t see what that has to do with Akira-kun.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Senpai. I know you’re not this dense. Think for a moment, or grab that Orb of Sight. Whatever, I don’t care which of the two it is. Think about what we’ve heard about the kid. And then ask me again what this has to do with Akira.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The same pit of dread that once infected his stomach when Nanako was in the hospital reared its ugly head once more. Rise was right. He was so focused on the identities of the other Phantom Thieves he never stopped to consider the one they already knew about.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was a teenager, about 16 or 17. He transferred to Tokyo while on probation. And while they never released his mugshot, Yu could practically see the shaggy black hair and sharp grey eyes of Akira-kun. Standing in almost defiance against his sentence because he knew he was innocent. Whatever happened to make Akira do that...Yu didn’t even want to imagine.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Neither of them wanted it to be true, Yu knew that far too well. He remembered how he’d felt during the scare with Nanako, and would never wish that upon even the worst of his enemies, let alone a good friend like Rise. But the situation was all too real, all too coincidental to be anything else. The truth that he could no longer hide behind, all the days and nights of visiting Akira who grew jumpier and begged for Yu to stop asking questions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akira had been the Leader of the Phantom Thieves.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yu forced the thick lump back down his throat. “Rise-chan I’m really sorry it took so long to get to you. I know exactly how you feel because of Nanako. Is there anything I can do for you?” he asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the other end he heard a quiet sniffle. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You were supposed to watch after him. You were </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>supposed</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> to keep him </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>safe,</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> Yu.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know. I should have stepped in sooner and I’m sorry. Deep down I think we’ve all known from the start it was Akira. I think he was calling for help before, when he told me to pass on his message to you. Neither of us really clued into what was really going on.” Yu sheepishly admitted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Wait...what message?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Rise slowly asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He could have sworn he called her and passed on the message immediately after talking to Akira. Granted it had gone straight to voicemail but he knew she received it. No one else could have the sugary sweet Risette voicemail message she had.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t get it? I called you two days before the arrest. It should be in your voicemail.” Yu replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a quiet pause for an agonizing minute. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yu I’ve kept my phone on for the entire month in case my manager calls me. If you called I would have heard it.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tried to think back to the day he sent the message to Rise. It was a normal Friday afternoon. He'd just finished his English class. The reception wasn’t so great in his apartment that day, his phone, the TV and his computer weren’t working as well as normal. He saw a lot more moths than usual that day too. They were covering the outside of his windows, flapping outside the door. He called the exterminator but by the time he arrived, the moths were gone. No, Friday November 18th was definitely a day stranger than others.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Senpai I don’t know what’s going on with you right now but I really don’t have time for your jokes. Kashihara-san is coming by later and...I think I should tell him if he doesn’t already know.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Rise you can’t seriously be considering telling Kashihara-san his son is </span>
  <em>
    <span>dead.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Yu tried to argue, but it was a futile effort. He knew once Rise set her mind to something, especially when it came to Yasogami’s beloved English teacher or Akira, that she was going to do it. Rise was stubborn and he could normally appreciate her for sticking to what she believed in but in the case of someone dying, especially Akira, he wished she would think otherwise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“If not now when senpai? At some point they’re either going to figure it. Whether it be through Katsuya-san, Tatsuya-san himself or just intuition, they will. And if they don’t? How do you think they’d react to their son not showing up after his probation ends because he’s been dead for months Yu? It’s for the best.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know, I know I just think we need more time. Do we even know for certain if he’s dead? They had a </span>
  <em>
    <span>plan</span>
  </em>
  <span> Rise-chan I just know it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yu. This isn’t like Nanako. The power of friendship and love isn’t going to bring him back, no matter how badly I wish that were true. People live, and then they die. It’s just how it is. And keeping that from Akira’s parents longer than it has to be is just plain cruel. It’s going to suck for us all, I don’t even know how I’m going to get through it but consider this when you have the time. What would you have done if you never knew Nanako died?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His cellphone clicked, and the line went dead. He continued to stare at the seemingly broken phone for a long time after Rise hung up wondering to himself, what would he do if Nanako had died before he got to her room, or if no one ever even knew she died because they weren’t there. What would Nanako have felt dying alone? would it be similar to Akira?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He still didn’t want to think about it. He wanted to deny the fact for as long as possible. Somewhere, out there, there was a voice calling his soul telling him Akira was still alive. What that part of his soul was he never knew, and never would know. The call of the Wild Card was a strong one but the strings holding them together were long since frayed. All thanks to what they call Justice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Wild Card could only take so much. Though they had Sealed the very being named Death, a Goddess shrouding the world in Fog, and fought against a false god of control, the ties that bound them were constantly pulled, and stressed beyond what a normal person should be able to. Humanity was fickle, they were always on the brink of ruin. But there were people who would keep their faith in humanity, perhaps not meddle in it anymore. However as weak as they were they still existed. </span>
  <span></span><br/>

  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Likewise someone else would always be there to bring humanity back to ruin. The power of the Wild Card was strong, but every moment that passed the Wild Card weakened. Perhaps it was from the intervention of the true gods, or perhaps humanity willed it to happen. No one would be able to say for certain for a while. But the time will come eventually, worry not.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Time delivers us all to the same end, after all.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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